Springtime

Spring has been an incredible crazy couple of months! We have seen so much family and had so many fun adventures. I wish I took the time to journal and write things down and detail all of the fun that we have had together as a family, but as always, time gets away from me, and then it's too hard to catch up. So, here a a few highlights of the past couple months:




APRIL:

Easter was so much fun. We got to be with both sides of our family, and Lily had an incredible time all day. I guess it really is such a blessing to be so near to both of our families. Of course the best part is getting to see them and spend time with them, but Lily won't complain about two different Easter egg hunts, two easter baskets, and we were happy about two yummy easter meals. What can I say.... we are the king of mooching off our sweet families!


MAY:

May was huuuge! The best part.... I FINISHED THE SEMESTER!! I can't believe it. My heart was pounding the entire last day. I was so happy to walk out the door an not think about school for one second for a couple months. The next few days after school was out I just cuddled and played and laughed with Lily every second I could, and it was incredible.

 Also in May, Lily turned 2!!! I totally needed an escape the last few months of school because I was just dying, so I threw myself in to planning Lily's Yo Gabba Gabba party, and it was such a blast. So colorful and fun. I spent so many fun hours looking up inspiration and cute DIY projects online to make her day so special. I know, i know... she is only turning 2, and will have zero memories of it, but I loved doing it, and it was a really fun weekend.




Josh graduated from CWI! We are so proud of him. Right after the party, we rushed to watch him graduate. Lily just kept saying "Dad has a funny hat" and talked about it for weeks afterwards. Anytime she saw a graduation cap and gown after that, she just said "Daddy wore a funny hat!" and laughed so hard. It was adorable. Many hours of studying and night class, Josh finally finished his program, and we are so happy for him.

 Also, in May, we got to meet PAYTON for the first time!!! I was dying.... driving home from school knowing her and Amanda would be there, I think I was speeding so fast. It was so fun to see her little face and hold and snuggle her. My first niece... I loved being an aunt. I am the only one of my sisters that has a baby, so everyone else got to be an aunt two years ago except for me, and I love it!! Come on sisters... get busy and have more babies! :) That means you too Manda... haha
We drove down to Utah for our cousin Annie's blessing, and got to see Jeremy! Lily loved getting to see Payton all weekend long, and so did we.

We have been missing Krystin so much lately, and we love to Skype with her as much as we can! Lily is getting to the age where she thinks things through, makes connections, and asks so many questions. She asks where Krystin is all the time, and asks if she can go visit her again.

JUNE:

When June hit, we were full swing in the summer fever, and I loved it. If you ask me, I am never going back to school (ok, ok...that is not in the cards yet, but hopefully soon)

We love going down and visiting Will and Ruby sometimes while Karalee watches them. They are two of the cutest little babies ever. So many times we get in the car, Lily asks if we are going to "Ruby Dube's house", and wants to play with them. They are adorable.

June meant marathon month... three of my sisters ran a Marathon! It was insane... I was so dang proud of them. They all finished so strong, and I can say that is something that I will never do.

Then, the rest of the family road trip began!! We drove straight from there to Arizona, and spent the week in sunny AZ!! It was incredible to be in the sunshine, the heat, relaxing, sleeping in, swimming, shopping, eating yummy feed, snuggling baby payton... it was incredible. Lily was in 3 hotels, 4 states, and like 35 hours of driving in a week. SUCH a trooper.

She loved to open her special "roadtrip" presents, one every hour, as we drove. It was really cute to see her get excited about things like stickers, glow sticks, and new sun glasses.

Coming back, we went through Las Vegas and St. George, and got to do some hiking in Zion National Park all day. It was seriously an incredible weekend with the family. Lily loved it. I had been to Zions once before with my family on a road trip, and I was so happy to start that tradition with Lily (i know she is too small to remember, but it was still awesome). Her favorite part was riding the shuttle bus that took you to all the trailheads. She loved it, and even took a little nap in "Dora's backpack" on Josh's back as he carried her along the trails.


Now, we are back and charging forward to the next big thing in our lives... We are moving!! We will find out tomorrow if we get the apartment that we want, and we have been packing and cleaning like crazy. Here are a few things that we are loving right now:

1. Divergent/Insurgent:
                  My mom introduced us to this book before she left, and Josh and I listened to the first one  on the drive back to Boise, and now we are reading the second one. We love it!

2. EUROPE: My mom and dad and Krystin and Kayla have been in Europe for three weeks, and they are coming home at the end of the month! We can't wait to see them again!

3. Netflix. Lily still will say "Mama, turn on Netfwix" She is loving Angelina Ballerina, LaLaLoopsy Land, and Yo Gabba Gabba right now.

4. Half Price shakes at Sonic after 8:00.... enough said.

5. Lily's vocab. This girl is talking so much. She says the cutest, funniest things every day. I'm trying to write them all down so I won't forget. I need to do a better job. She is such a blessing every day, and she makes me so so so happy.

Well, way too long of an update. We'll keep you posted about the apartment.

A little catch up is in order...

Hello world. It's me... I'm back. I am not even going to say anything or make excuses about how I haven't blogged since OCTOBER (that's right... 6 months ago. SIX) Instead, I am going to do a guiltless 6 month recap, and move on with my life. I really do believe in documenting my family history, and a blog could be a great way to do that... if  I was consistent. So, turning over a new leaf and documenting the life of the most adorable little girl in the world. Lily will be two next month, so I wanted to catch up and get ready to start her next year of life with a blog full of pictures I can print and document for her. :)

NOVEMBER

~ Thanksgiving with the family, awesome food, family memories

DECEMBER

 ~ Winter break at school, Christmas time, Santa Clause, cold weather, Krystin's surprise visit early for the holidays, Lily not getting to see Santa because the line was too long (sorry Lils)  

 

 

JANUARY

~  birthday dinner at Carino's, Lily talking like crazy, visit to the Boise Aquarium, Lils starts loving nursery and can sing the ABC's all by herself

 

FEBRUARY

~ Sweet Valentine's day with the hubby, roadtrip to Utah with this little diva, Bridal shower for Bentis, one month closer to spring break, Lily giggling and laughing and absolutely overflowing with amazing personality, using words like butterfly, battery, purse, and hundreds of other words all in the right way

 

 

 

MARCH

~ jam packed with Las Vegas trip with the parents, discovering we love NASCAR (yes, that's right. I admitted that. and I really do love it), Benita's gorgeous wedding weekend in San Diego, PAYTON was born and I'm finally an aunt to the cutest little thing on the planet, a desperately needed Spring Break to just spend every day with Lily snuggling, jumping, dancing, singing, and playing

 

 

 

 

APRIL

~Well, we are still in the middle of April, so I guess pictures will be coming soon! Some exciting things are coming up though... Josh graduates next month and takes his big CCNA test!! So scary and exciting for him! We finally get to meet Payton in only THREE WEEKS!! I am seriously counting down the days and I wish it were tomorrow. I can't believe she will basically be TWO MONTHS when I get to see her for the first time.... so sad. I am just absolutely struggling to get through the end of the school year with my kids, filling in for the Student Council adviser who broke her ankle to plan prom later this month, my own leadership kids are planning Morp, Yearbooks will hopefully be delivered on time, all while I am supposed to be getting my US history kids ready for their final district exam... yuck. When am I supposed to be a good wife and cook and clean my house and go to the gym and play with my adorable baby girl and SLEEP and just take a breath? I haven't figured that out yet... 

Lils on the other hand is just tearing it up as a ball of eternal energy. She really is the most brilliant, beautiful baby in the world. Ok, ok... I know I am her mom, but it's so true. :) She is talking so much, and everyday says the funniest things that I just die laughing about. I am excited to be caught up now on the blog so I can share some of the joy she brings with the rest of you! 

More to come later... but wow, it feels good to be "caught up" and moving on. Here's to an incredible rest of April!

Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkins galore. Bumpy hay rides. Delicious, hot mini doughnuts. Allergies from the hay.

The Pumpkin Patch at Linder farms is turning in to one of my most favorite fall traditions. Josh, my mom, and I took Lily this year, and I was so excited because I thought that Lily would love all of the sights and smells. And needless to say... I was not disappointed.

We headed to the hay ride first, eager to get the perfect little pumpkin in her waiting hands. I think the fact that she hadn't napped that day made her a bit apprehensive at first, nervous with every bump and jostle of the hay ride. But once we jumped off and entered the pumpkin patch, she was in heaven.
It was the cutest thing to see her discover the baby pumpkins that were growing underneath all the vines. She was fully committed to rescuing each one, digging in the dirt and carry them around. She loved that they were just her size.
In the end, we found the perfect sized pumpkin for my beautiful one year old. I think she loved it.

After the patch, we headed to the petting zoo. We all know how much i love, ok HATE, animals. Sorry animal lovers, I just don't like them. Sure, baby lambs are cute, but they are smelly and dirty, and don't think for one second that I will pay a dollar to feed them. Sorry Lils.

Luckly, her daddy stepped up to the plate, and Lily couldnt' get enough of the baby lambs eating the feed. Lots of hand sanitizer later, I was glad she had a good time.

We topped the day off with some doughnuts, and all in all, it was a perfect day.

Fall truly is my favorite season. The smells, the food, the chilly air, the scarves and boots. Love it all. I am so glad we live so close to family so we can do these things with them.
Can't wait for halloween... I am trying to whip up a family costume this year, so stay tuned for pictures of that spooky event.

Y.M.C.A. with Auntie Karalee

Lily is such a lucky girl, because she gets to spend time with her Auntie Karalee every week! Karalee is one of our amazing, incredible, perfect nannies. She devotes her complete time, energy, and love in to making sure Lily has an awesome day. She is so good about choosing activities that Lily will enjoy.

A couple Fridays ago was no different. Karalee took Lily to the YMCA to go swimming, and it turns out, Lily is absolutely obsessed with the YMCA... Karalee said she LOVED it.
The first stopped to look at the rock climbing wall. Apparently Lily was memorized by the height and color. Then, they went in to the locker room, and Lily loved to crawl in and out of every locker in the row.
She spent lots of time in the pool, splashing away. Zoe and Sophia swam with her too, and it turns out, Lily loved the baby pool! I feel bad I can't take her to swim as much as she would like, so I am so happy that Karalee took her this day.
They spent some time at the gym after the swim. Karalee says that there was a super intense basketball game going, and Lily was taking it all in.

They spent some time in the raquetball court. Apparently, I am raising an athlete, just like her Daddy.
Lily loved watching the workout room as well. I can just imagine how excited she was by all the sights and sounds, and I am so grateful that Karalee took her on such a fun adventure.

That is one thing that I absolutely LOVE about Lily. She loooves adventures and new things and being happy. I can just tell that she thought this whole place was full of new sights and adventures. Being a toddler is amazing... Love that girl. Love the Y. Love Karalee... perfect combination.

She loved it so much, it completely wiped her out...
Thanks sis for making Lily's day!